Dilboy Stadium
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George Dilboy Memorial Stadium is a multi-purpose public sports
stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
in the city of
Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...
. It is the home of the Somerville Rampage semi-pro men's football team, the Boston Renegades semi-pro women's football team, as well as teams from Somerville High School, Saint Clement High School, and
Matignon High School The Cambridge Matignon School (originally Father Matignon High School) is a private, co-educational Roman Catholic college-preparatory school in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. The school is under the auspices of the ...
. The stadium is named for
George Dilboy George Dilboy (Americanized transliteration of Greek name, Georgios Dilvois: Γεώργιος Διλβόης), (February 5, 1896 – July 18, 1918), Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company H, 103rd Infantry Regiment (United States), 26th Division ...
, who lived in Somerville and was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War I. The original stadium opened in 1955. It was demolished and rebuilt in 2006. When it opened, the current stadium seated 2,000. Since then, it has been expanded at various times to accommodate the teams playing there. Located just off of
Massachusetts Route 2 Route 2 is a major east–west state highway in Massachusetts. Along with Route 9 and U.S. Route 20 to the south, these highways are the main alternatives to the Massachusetts Turnpike/ I-90 toll highway. Route 2 runs the entire ...
, it is also under two miles from
Davis Station The Davis Station, commonly called Davis, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Davis is situated on the coast of Cooperation Sea in Princess Elizabeth Land, In ...
and
Alewife Station Alewife station is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intermodal transit station in the North Cambridge neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is the northwest terminal of the rapid transit Red Line (part of the MBTA subw ...
, making it reachable by a variety of forms of transit. It is located close to
Alewife Brook Reservation Alewife Brook Reservation is a Massachusetts state park and urban wild located in Cambridge, Arlington, and Somerville. The park is managed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and was established in 1900. It is named for Ale ...
(a Massachusetts state park), as well as a Somerville city park with a swimming pool, two baseball fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, and a playground.


1955 Stadium

The first Dilboy Stadium was opened in 1955. The inaugural game was a football match between Somerville High School and Medford High School on October 8, 1955. When the stadium opened, its capacity was 5,000. Plans for the stadium began about twenty years earlier but were delayed many times, including by
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and a 1950 federal ban on construction of recreational facilities. Several fundraising drives failed. In 1952,
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
, then a congressman from Massachusetts, helped allocated steel from the
National Production Authority The National Production Authority (NPA) was an agency of the United States government which developed and promoted the production and supply of materials and facilities necessary for defense mobilization. It was part of the Department of Commerce. ...
for the stadium. The stadium was eventually built as a partnership between the City of Somerville and the Metropolitan District Commission, both of which contributed over $20,000 to the effort. Since the stadium was not wholly Somerville's, the high schools playing in it were charged rent and other fees. Before Dilboy Stadium was built, the Somerville High School football team had not played a home game since 1942. This decreased the football program's income, as the custom was to split gate receipts, giving 60% to the home team and 40% to the away team. This contributed to pressure to build a stadium.


2006 Stadium

By the early 2000s, the stadium had fallen into disrepair. State Senator Charlie Shannon lobbied the state government intensively for the $8 million necessary to demolish and replace the stadium. The funding was part of the state budget approved by Governor
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
in September 2004. Shannon died before the project's completion, and there were plans to name the replacement stadium after Shannon instead of Dilboy. The renaming was scratched after Somerville's Greek community spoke out in favor of retaining the name Dilboy. The replacement Dilboy Stadium opened in September 2006. Dilboy Stadium was a blighted state-owned facility before a $7.7 million renovation, funded by the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
, turned it into a gleaming venue for soccer, football, and running. The central playing surface is a 100-yard synthetic turf football and soccer field, surrounded by a standard 400-meter eight-lane running track. The stadium's lighting system has a range of illumination levels suitable for various activities, from evening football games to walking and jogging on the track. The low-maintenance feature of synthetic turf reduces down-time, which, along with the artificial lighting, maximizes programming in the stadium. The facility is operated and staffed by the City of Somerville, which is responsible for its security, scheduling and maintenance. The stadium is designed to allow different buildings on its site to be open or closed, depending on how it is used. It is open to local residents who can run or walk on the track. It is also a home stadium for high school teams of the city. The stadium was designed by Bargmann Hendrie + Archetype Inc. of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. Its size is over 17,000 square feet and it seats 2,000 in a 10,000-square-foot grandstand. The team room building is 2,100 square feet, and the concession building in 2,600 square feet, including storage and a garage. The stadium was home to the
Boston Militia The Boston Militia were a women's full-contact football team in the Women's Football Alliance of which they were two-time champions (2011, 2014). Previously, the Militia played in the Independent Women's Football League from 2008 until 2010, winnin ...
of the
Women's Football Alliance The Women's Football Alliance (WFA) is a professional full-contact Women's American football tackle minor league that began play in 2009. It is the largest 11-on-11 football league for women in the world, and the longest running active women's ...
(WFA) league from 2008 to 2014 and to the women's soccer club, the
Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's ...
, in 2012 and 2013. It is the current home of the Somerville Rampage of the New England Football League and to the Boston Renegades of the WFA. As of 2014, the stadium was averaging 601 uses per year.


Use

The following teams have held home games at the stadium.


References

{{National Women's Soccer League stadiums 1955 establishments in Massachusetts American football venues in Massachusetts Boston Breakers (NWSL) Buildings and structures in Somerville, Massachusetts Former National Women's Soccer League stadiums High school football venues in the United States Sports venues in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Sports venues completed in 1955 Soccer venues in Massachusetts Women's Professional Soccer stadiums